MAKING SYSTEM PROOF-POSITIVE

Court Agency Gets a Handle on Drug Testing

Toxicologist Jocelyn Harris carefully picks up a tube of urine and holds it
up to the light, noting its pale, golden color. Not only was this sample
bar-coded, but from the moment it was "made," a computer program has been
keeping track of its path, recording each person who handled it, and each
machine that has tested it.

Who would have thought one little vial of urine could demand so much attention?

The procedure, known as "chain of custody," is used by the Court Services
and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA). The
agency was created under the federal D.C. Revitalization Act in 1997 in an
effort to restore confidence in the District's criminal justice system.

CSOSA is an umbrella agency that manages the D.C. Board of Parole, Adult
Probation and the D.C. Pretrial Services Agency, said Bob Murphy, CSOSA's
media affairs officer.

"Before CSOSA, when it was the three agencies--D.C. pretrial, parole and
probation--services were scattered all over," Murphy said. "Things had been
allowed to deteriorate to an unacceptable level, and little things like
record keeping" and the pace at which defendants were tried after testing
positive was slow, he added. He said the entire process was inefficient and
unreliable, and had little or no impact on the offender's realization of
his crime and subsequent behavior.

Drug testing was valid before CSOSA was formed, but the agencies did not
have the wherewithal to test offenders routinely. Without frequent testing,
offenders had no compulsion to stay clean, Murphy said. Bringing the three
agencies into one system "allowed an important function of the city to be
modernized," he said. CSOSA's goals are to reduce crime, restore safety to
the streets, instill confidence in the criminal justice system and reduce
the number of repeat offenders

"Offenders need to realize that probation and parole are privileges. A
condition of these privileges is that they don't use drugs. If they are
[using], they will be held accountable," Murphy said.

To stress the need for accountability, CSOSA has instituted a system of
graduated sanctions. There are varying degrees of sanctions, because the
regulations are different from various supervision programs. For example, a
probationer from drug court might be scheduled to spend three days back in
drug court (watching others get sanctioned) the first time he tests
positive. The second time, he may have to spend three days in jail. The
third time, spending seven days in jail or in a detoxification program may
be the result.

Adult offenders in the sanctioning system sign a contract that says that
each time they test positive, swift, specific actions will be taken.

"The goal is to make a structure where people can get better," said Jay
Carver, trustee of CSOSA. "The magic of this system is that the behavior we
want to change is dealt with immediately."

CSOSA's new Forensic Toxicology Drug Testing Laboratory at 300 Indiana Ave.
NW, which opened on Feb. 7, is expected to back up the promise of swift
sanctions for violators. The lab will be managed by the D.C. Pretrial
Services Agency. Built with funding from the pretrial services budget and
the Justice Department, the new laboratory is intended to increase the
accuracy of tracking the samples.

Previously, the main lab was at the D.C. Superior Courthouse, at 500
Indiana Ave. NW. Jerome Robinson, director of the Forensic Toxicology Drug
Testing Laboratory, said the old machinery was efficient but not as fast as
the new ones. The old machine "could do 600 separate tests for different
drugs in one hour" and bar-code the samples, Robinson said. The new machine
will be able to complete 2,400 separate tests for specific drugs in an
hour, he said.

Once the sample is collected, it is labeled with a bar code, then
transferred to the lab. If the results are negative for the particular
substances tested for (i.e., alcohol, marijuana, cocaine) the test is
considered complete. If the results are positive, the sample is retested.
Each step of the process is recorded.

"You have to be able to show where the sample was at every step so it can
stand up in court," Carver said. "If there is any doubt at any point in the
process, a good defense attorney can challenge the system, and it is harder
for the judge to rely on the testing."

The chain of custody program, developed by Carver and Robinson, and Ron
Hickey, Information Technology Director of the D.C. Pretrial Agency, helps
speed up the testing process.

"In the previous system, what would have taken an hour to do now takes
fifteen minutes," Robinson said. Instead of several workers tediously
typing in information hour after hour, all the information is available on
a series of screens that can be accessed by someone from the three CSOSA
agencies or by the judge in drug court.

The ultimate goal is for every criminal court in the District to be wired
to the system. "We have a long way to go before an ideal system is built,"
cautioned Carver, "but the lab is a major milestone."

Carver said CSOSA is moving toward a neighborhood-based model of
supervision. Probation and parole officers have become community
supervision officers, working closely with neighborhood activists and D.C.
police. When information is pooled at neighborhood meetings, each group
learns where the problem streets and the problem people are.

The community supervision officers also have offices in halfway houses,
where offenders continue serving their sentences. As John Clark,
Corrections Trustee for the District of Colombia points out, "Between CSOSA
and the D.C. federal corrections agencies, there is very good
coordination." He said the increased supervision, accountability and drug
testing make a great difference in rehabilitating offenders.

Because CSOSA was formed in 1997, it does not have an extensive track record.

"It's early to say how effective it will be," said Michael L. Rankin,
presiding judge of the criminal division of D.C. Superior Court. But he
said he believes that the sharing of information between community
supervision officers and those in the criminal justice system will produce
more effective management. Also, increased funding has provided a
top-flight lab, as well as the ability to employ more experienced workers.
Rankin stressed the importance given to continued training for CSOSA's
employees, saying it leads to better, more efficient workers.

"We all are in a learning period," he said. "We'll adjust as we go along."